Israeli far-right minister boasts of 'wiping out Gaza’ amid increasing starvation

Israel’s far-right heritage minister has boasted that his country is racing to drive out Palestinians from their homes in Gaza and make the enclave Jewish, as hundreds of thousands of people face starvation and an epidemic of treatable diseases.

"The government is racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out," Amichai Eliyahu told the Kol Barama radio station. "Thank God, we are wiping out this evil. We are pushing this population that has been educated on Mein Kampf," he continued, comparing Palestinians to Nazis.

During the interview, he doubled down on previous genocidal rhetoric, emphasising "all Gaza will be Jewish," and denying that Palestinians in the Strip are being starved, despite the toll of malnutrition related deaths reaching 115.

He referred to Palestinians as "monsters" and claimed that "there’s no hunger in Gaza" and "we don’t need to be concerned with hunger in the Strip. Let the world worry about it".

His remarks come as over 100 international rights and aid groups this week raised the alarm over Israel’s blockade on Gaza, which has left Palestinians starving. Vulnerable groups include those under five and the elderly, rights groups say, while waterborne diseases have also spiked.

Despite millions of dollars’ worth of aid waiting at land crossings to enter Gaza, the Israeli government continues to besiege the devastated territory and prevent the entry of vital aid.

After the interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza, tried to distance himself from Eliyahu's remarks.

"Eliyahu does not speak for the government I lead," Netanyahu said in a post on X. "He is not a member of the Security Cabinet that determines the conduct of the war."

In 2023, Eliyahu also said that Israel should consider dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza.

Previously that year, when two Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian village and killed a teenager, he labelled it  "self-defence".

In 2024, he shared a post on X calling for the annexation of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, calling for "occupation now".

Later the same year, he said in an interview with the Israeli public broadcaster Kan that Israel was planning to fund controversial tours of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, for Israeli settlers.

The interview prompted concerns over Israel attempting to change the status quo of the revered mosque

His comments come as the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues to exacerbate and world leaders slam Israel for bombarding the Strip while also obstructing aid, calling this a "war crime".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is the latest leader to weigh in, saying that Israel’s denial of food and killing of civilians "cannot be defended or ignored".

The UK, too, has come under mounting pressure to recognise a Palestinian state.

Israel on Thursday alone killed at least 62 Palestinians, with 19 of them attempting to collect aid.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 59,587 Palestinians since October 2023, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry. The true death toll is believed to be much higher, with thousands of uncounted victims trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.